How to Make a Fondant Asparagus Cake {a Tutorial}

This post makes me giggle. Well, not the actual post, since I haven’t written it yet, but the fact that I am still inflicting innocent and unsuspecting passersby with what seems to be the endless life of the Asparagus Cake–the trompe l’oeil cake I made as, really, just a joke for Grant’s sister, Mary, or as we call her, Mar. When I initially shared this crazy cake idea back when I first started this blog just over a year ago, and then again when I recreated and revisited it (above) this past May, I never really expected that anyone else would want (or have a good reason) to make this cake themselves, which is why I didn’t include tutorials in either of those posts. Then, something unexpected happened: I began getting emails from readers asking me for a tutorial and explaining that they indeed have the perfect reason to make this cake. This makes me very happy! I love that some of you actually have reasons to make one, and that some of you simply want to. Yep, I kind of love that. Long live Asparagus Cakes!

Just to recap on why I made this cake the first time, Mar had been training for a fitness competition for many months prior to her show in November, and this poor foodie, fellow lover-of-sweet had been eating more asparagus than one could even fathom. She’s amazing, though, and stayed more focused and disciplined than most of us (and by most of us, I mean me) could even dream of, so the girl earned herself some serious post-show cake. So, for fun, during her training months we would chat about all of the delicious things she couldn’t wait to eat after the show, and more specifically at our house the next day for a celebratory lunch. When I asked her what she wanted for dessert, she said “I’d love something with chocolate cake and vanilla buttercream, but other than that, whatever you think!” So, my first thought was something pink and girly, you know, a real show-stopping dessert for a fitness queen, but then it dawned on me: Asparagus! It simply could be no other way and, if you know me, you know that nothing was going to stop me from making this happen. It just made too much sense, and I love a challenge. I was so excited with the way it turned out, and it was actually a little easier than I expected.

The real asparagus I referred to while making this cake–this photo is not fondant asparagus, and I promise I would not put this real asparagus, or any other real asparagus, onto a cake!

Referring to actual asparagus (above) was the most important step in the process of creating this cake. I learned a few things the first time around and made some notes on what I would do the next time to improve it. My main issue with the first one was that I felt the spears still looked a bit too green, even though I did add hints of red, because if you look, I mean really look, at real raw asparagus, they are filled with some neat red and many purple tones. Since I wanted them to look as realistic as possible, I knew that they had to look raw, because cooked asparagus takes on that bright green colour, and well, cooked asparagus wouldn’t be presented in a bunch–it was definitely about the details. Life is in the details!

I think the key to making this cake look hyper-realistic, aside from the rolling and snipping, is the shading, which I achieved by brushing on a few different petal dust colours (those typically used to create very realistic sugar flowers) once the “asparagus” were dry–that is when this cake came to life. If you look at the photo above, you’ll see that, when I took that photo, I’d shaded the full spears but not the tips yet–do you see the dimension that gives? I think had I gone with the straight green and undusted asparagus on the cake, it would have looked like a neat cake that looks like a bundle of asparagus. By shading it all, it took it to looking much like an actual bundle of asparagus, which is what you want if you’re looking to wow some folks. I’ll tell you a secret: I continue to get very passionate emails from people who believe this cake is a farce, and who swear I have manipulated it, or the photos, in some way. They can’t believe that it’s not real asparagus and are so angry with me for trying to get away with Asparagus Cake fraud (who knew that was a thing?) that they send me hate mail. Can you imagine? I swear this to be true. So, I suppose the moral of the story here is that, if you want to make people really angry and get Asparagus Cake fraud hate mail too, you really better shade those spears!

So, believe it or not, this cake is not difficult to make, and it’s a very simple process, albeit time consuming. Essentially, your making fondant asparagus and attaching them to the outside of a green cake, followed by covering the top of the cake with small 2″ fondant asparagus tips that fill in every inch of exposed cake on top. Once all of the spears and tips are on the cake, you will see it magically transform into a life-like bundle of asparagus. The finishing touch, for both function and form, is the ribbon–it holds the asparagus in place while they are setting on the cake (and while displayed), and it also mimics the string or elastic that typically ties real life bunches together.

If time is on your side, I recommend making your fondant asparagus over the course of days or even weeks, to break it up. Once made, you can keep them in a dry open-air spot, out of the sun, indefinitely. If you are creating the entire cake all at once, you would let the asparagus dry overnight, if possible, and then you would dust to shade them, and assemble. I covered my buttercream covered cake with green fondant, but you can also skip this step by colouring your buttercream green and simply pressing the asparagus straight onto the cake–this may even be easier, but I have yet to do it this way. Since wet fondant becomes a glue of sorts, attaching the asparagus to your fondant-covered cake does work. One thing I would do differently next time would be taper the tops of the full stalks a little less, so that there is no under-cake showing through. I think the slightly tapered top is important, but just a bit less would have been perfect.

A note about your choice of fondant for this cake: When I made this the second time (above), I used my favourite brand of fondant, Satin Ice. One of the reasons I normally love Satin Ice brand the best is because it dries the most porcelain-like on my cakes, but in this instance, for the fondant asparagus, I would have preferred them to be a little less porcelain like, as they were the first time I made the cake. I found they were so firm with the Satin Ice that they didn’t adhere to the cake as well as the first time I made the cake. So, in this case, I would recommend using any other brand for this project, as every other brand I’ve tried is softer, even when dry. This also makes slicing the cake a bit easier–that coupled with the fact that Satin Ice is the most $$, it’s just a great idea to avoid it for this cake.

What you do on the inside of the cake is totally up to you, of course, but I personally feel that a rich dark chocolate cake, paired with vanilla buttercream offers a pleasing contrast for all of that green. And, as always, splitting your layers to create a 6 or even 8-layer cake will add even more drama to an already dramatic cake. This cake is just too much fun to not make. If you have someone in your life, like Mar, who is an asparagus-eating king or queen, then it just makes good sense.

A few more reasons for when to make this cake and have it make even a little bit of sense (Sweetapolita *chanting* let’s make, let’s make, let’s make an asparagus cake!):

For someone who simply takes healthy eating very seriously

For someone who just happens to love asparagus

Fitness enthusiasts

For kids! This is a hilarious joke to play on a kid who isn’t quite as passionate about vegetables as they are about cake–birthday or not

A garden party

For anyone who works with veggies for a living: chef, farmer, grocer

For those who love to garden

For a quirky wedding, garden wedding or groom’s cake (I almost cried when I saw this wedding online–oh, how perfect this cake would have been for them and their perfectly quirky wedding)

Just because!

So, now that we have many reasons to run to the kitchen and whip up this asparagus confection, let me explain how we do it. This may look like a lot of steps, but honestly, this cake isn’t about complexity, it’s about time. Sweet, precious time. Simply put, it takes a lot of it (how much time depends on how fast you work, of course), but it is pretty straightforward, and it’s worth it.

cornstarch or icing sugar for dusting work surface (if not using fondant work mat)

Method

Make your fondant asparagus (you can make these as far in advance as you wish):

Colour your fondant 3 shades of green using the AmeriColor Leaf Green & Sugarflair Gooseberry. Make 1/3 of your fondant 50/50, then make two additional shades: 1 with the slightest bit more Leaf Green and the final with the slightest bit more Gooseberry. Keep all your 3 shades of green fondant well-sealed (I use medium plastic seal bags) while not in use, and only work with small amounts at once.

Removing only a golf-ball-sized bit of fondant from the bag, soften it by working it in your hands for a moment, and then, on a fondant work mat or clean countertop, roll into a long, even rope, about 1/2″ thick or so, using your hands or a cookie sheet (this creates a very even rope) in a back-and-forth rolling motion. *If your fondant sticks to your countertop, use a light dusting of icing sugar or cornstarch. If you use a fondant mat, you won’t have this issue.

Cut into 5″ long pieces (you should get 3 or so per rope) and cut remaining “rope” into 2″ pieces. Using the palm of your hand, roll “neck’ of each piece gently, so that it tapers a small bit and then do the same to the very tip, so it becomes slightly pointed. Don’t worry if they aren’t all the exact same length, as we’ll be trimming them a bit before putting them on the cake.

Working quickly, and while keeping the pieces on the counter, make many tiny snips the tapered ends of each piece and sporadically along the stalks. *Be sure to not actually cut the flaps of fondant off when using the scissors, as you want the little “triangle” flaps to pull away from the spear, but not come off. So now you have your first spears and tips (woohoo!). Now, simply repeat a few hundred times. Kidding! Sort of. Set each one on a wire rack or parchment-lined cookie sheet (they simply dry faster on rack, but if you are doing ahead of time, use cookie sheets as they are easy to move around) to dry. The quantity needed depends on the diameter of you cake and how thick you rolled your asparagus stalks. I believe I used about 75 full spears (for the outside of the cake) and ~400 tips to fill the center. Let dry overnight (or up to weeks in advance) in a cool, dry place–exposed to air.

Using small dry paintbrushes, generously dust each spear with green dust at the tip and randomly over stalk (where you snipped), then with hints of African Violet and Flame Red. *Refer to your real bunch of asparagus as much as possible. You will be adding a final round of dust after the cake has been assembled, so you don’t need to go overboard with the dusting.

Pat yourself on the back and celebrate with a fancy beverage of some kind, because the worst, my friends, is over–you have just made hundreds of fondant asparagus + tips!

Assemble the Asparagus Cake:

Cover your cake in either green vanilla buttercream or vanilla buttercream covered with green fondant. *I used green fondant that I coloured white fondant using leaf green to gooseberry green 50/50. Don’t stress too much about your fondant or buttercream job being perfect, because not one inch of this part of the cake will be visible, but do your best to start with a fairly smooth and even surface. Place cake on the plate or pedestal you plan to serve it on, and chill cake for 30 minutes, or so.

If you finished your cake with green vanilla buttercream, that will essentially be your glue–you can go ahead and places your full spears, one by one, directly around the cake, as close together as possible. You may want to trim the bottom of certain spears before sticking them to the cake, to ensure they all sit at the same height–you want your spears to sit about 2″ above the top of your cake (see photo). If you finished your cake with green fondant, you will use a medium-large paint brush or pastry brush and wet sections of the cake before gently pressing the asparagus to the sides–the wet fondant is your glue. You may have to hold each one or few for a moment until it sticks, or tie a ribbon around the outside of the spears and cake to set (see photo).

Once you have placed spears all the way around the perimeter of the cake, tie the ribbon firmly around the cake to help them set.

You will now place the tips tightly together on the top of the cake, one by one. Remember that you don’t want any of the under-cake exposed, as this is what makes it look so real. Fill every inch you can with the tips, trimming the bottoms before placing on the cake, if necessary (you want them to be as close to the same height as possible).

Add any last shading with your petal dusts to enhance the tips, bases and spots where you snipped.

Voila! Now, please, have another fancy beverage and piece of cake to celebrate (Asparagus Cake, anyone?). You did it!

Sweetapolita’s Notes for a successful Asparagus Cake:

Use real asparagus as your guide–this was key for me. Had I gone by memory, I never would have thought to include red and purple shading, which I think makes it.

Make all of the spears fairly consistent (in terms of length and diameter), but each one should be slightly different (shading, snips, etc)–think organic shapes and colours–not overly engineered.

Sugarflair Gooseberry green gel is the best I’ve found for a realistic green shade of base fondant. If you can’t find this, try adding a tiny bit of black to your Leaf Green colour gel, or experiment with mixing different shades of green.

Shading, shading, shading–this gives the cake that real trompe l’oeil dimension that freaks people out (hehe).

hi this cake is fantastic and like cookbook queen go girl, reading through cannot believe you had hate mail about which i thought was far to hilarious, people have too much time on thier hands, i too had someone contact me about a cake i did, saying i had “nicked” the picture and was not up to making cake, until i produced the cake in different stages like yours all i did was laugh and told them to get a life, …damn right they will be jealous… keep at it your cakes and tutorial are fabulous be proud x

I really, really love this cake and hope to make it one day. I just can’t believe there are idiots out there sending hate mail about the asparagus not being real – what is WRONG with them?? Anyway, thanks a million for the tutorial – if only it weren’t MY birthday in May and my husband’s in December. I’m not sure his baking is up to this!

I love your chant, Rosie! “Let’s make, let’s make, let’s make an asparagus cake!” and I may just take on this behemoth task in May when it’s my turn to bring in the Administrative Meeting desert – I’m known for my outcry of, “Nothing healthy, please!” Wouldn’t it be a fun surprise to cut into a nice, healthy bunch of asparagus? :o) Thanks so much for sharing!!

Seriously, this is amazing! Lovley, beautiful, hilarious, creative… what not can be said about this cake? I’m sure we’ve all seen MANY cakes, buth this one really is something to remember. Congratulations not only on an excellent job but also on a fantastic idea! I will most definitely keep your tutorial but I’m not so surew I will actually get myself to rolling and painitng all those asparagus tips… well maybe on a mini cake version ;-) Thanks so much for sharing your work and patience with us!

All of your cakes are lovely but this one was so inspired. The fondant underneath looks so thin and perfect too. I can’t believe you get hate mail about this cake, it’s baffling what some people get worked up about.

Whoa! You always impress me with your crazy cake creations. I saw this a while back when you first posted it and loved it then….and now with the tutorial, you are now pretty much my baking god. Loooove it!

Rosie, you sweet girl… this cake makes me simultaneously smile and cry. My sweet mom’s very favorite vegetable in the world was asparagus (as is mine). Mom passed away at the end of August and oh how I want to make this cake to help celebrate her memory…. I thank you for giving me another reason to have wonderful memories of my mom <3

i cannot even imagine someone sending you hate mail. you seem like the sweetest person and if they looked at any of your other cakes they would see that you clearly have the talent to make these cakes flawlessly and make them look like real asparagus…sometimes people are just jerks. but i love love love this cake and i always have since you first posted it but now im thrilled because i could actually make it myself! thank you rosie! xoxo

Beautiful cake, as always! I am inspired to try making this for my good friend, who despises vegetables of any sort. Her birthday is in April, so I have lots of time to make asparagus! I don’t think I can make them as beautiful as yours though! I can’t believe you got asparagus hate mail – some people have waaayyyy too much time on their hands! Thanks again for another awesome post!

My husband likes to eat the tips off asparagus, but I bet if I made this cake, he’d eat the WHOLE thing. Once I get over my fear of fondant, I want to make this cake. (P.S. I love Satin Ice too. It tastes like warm sugar!)

I love how contradictory this cake is!! and the fact that you now have contradicted all those “thomas the doubters.” If only they knew that they have paid you the highest compliment possible in the kingdom of cake:) ……. Totally gorgeous Rosie.

Every time I see this cake I am in awe! You are just amazing! I can’t believe people sent you hate mail. How horrible. They obviously don’t really know you or read your blog, because if they do they would know that you are the sweetest cake-maker out there and would NEVER do that. I am on your side Rosie :)

OMG, I just saw a tall beautiful asparagus cake-thing on Downton Abbey – minute 19.30 season one, episode one – check it out! Love your cakes and all you do – thanks for sharing it with the blog-sphere.

I know it’s been said before but I truly believe that all those people sending hate mail are just jealous because you are so talented! Thank you so much for this tutorial because my mother (whose absolute favorite veggie in the world is asparagus) is having a very special birthday in August. Now, I am known for my cakes but it has been getting hard to out-do myself any longer. No worries anymore. And I have plenty of time to practice, too… :)

I am simply floored by this cake. I found it on foodgawker and OH HOW I GAWKED! I showed it to a food-friend of mine and she immediately insisted that I make it for her birthday next year. Apparently the fact I can’t bake or even ICE a cake properly was no deterrent to her. “You have a year to learn!”

Wow!!! That is one gorgeous cake. I would never have believed that those are not real asparagus spears!! You are a brilliant pastry chef, and even the inside of the cake is so perfect. Love the combination of green and black too. A perfect dessert, that’s an eye candy too! Loved your blog, its my first time here, but I will keep coming back for more :)

I’ve just seen this and think it is abdolutley brilliant. Can I ask a favour? Please could i use one or more of your photos and put an article about it on my website http://wwww.asparagus-lover .com it is just so perfect for my site!

Uhh…..completely blown away by this cake! We’re opening a bed and breakfast this month and I have got to make this for my guests for tea time. This cake is beyond words and I love your meticulousness! I try to be the same way in my business. Thank you SO much for this beautiful post and for inspiring me to continue every day in a creative way!

Who woulda thought people would take such a cool cake something meant to be marveled at so seriously! I think it’s an awesome cake and when I have the time am totally gonna try making it just to freak out some health nuts. I knows!! Keep up the great work you inspire me to keep up what I love doing and that’s BAKING!!!

I think you have just gained a new stalker (me, of course). Not only do your recipes look awesome, and your comments and photography entertaining, but you have formatted the whole site in a way that is so fun to browse. I love your suggestions and tips…they let me know if I’ve found what I’m looking for. (which really, is just about everthing, because you are pretty rad).
I love this asparagus cake- my kids would get a kick out of it for April Fools day. I heart you!

Wow- that is great! Love your photos. I am actually hosting an asparagus-themed linky party over at 2 Sisters 2 Cities as part of our Fresh Produce Tuesday series. I would love if you linked up this post! It would definitely add some variety to our asparagus recipes collection :)

You inspire me beyond belief!!! And of course this is not real asparagus! Its BETTER and more BEAUTIFUL! Absolute Perfection…… I can’t wait to try this one! Your layered strawberry was a true success! and I’ve honestly never had anything better than that whipped frosting frosting!!! :) Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Rosie! Thanks for the in depth tutorial. I just finished making the asparagus cake for my mom’s birthday. Because of your tips and great explanations the whole process was smooth (even with my three small daughters trying to “help mommy”). My family is going to flip over this cake! I can’t wait to cut into it! Thanks again for your creativity and willingness to share :)

OMG…..!!!!!Thank you SO MUCH for sharing how you created this masterpiece! Asparagus is THE FIRST veggie my husband admitted to LOVE and he seems to slip it out on the grill with every meal! (it’s really a joke around my house). SO, this would make the PERFECT birthday cake for him! Would love to do it for Father’s day, but who am I kidding.. that is THIS weekend! ;) Thanks again for sharing and I can’t wait to try this!

I would love to make this cake for a vegetarian friend of mine! I know she would love it! Too bad i don’t have the patience to make all of those asparagus! Do you by chance take cake orders? lol jk I guess I could spread out the asparagus making between many days! I love your cakes and can’t believe you would get hate mail over something as petty as making your own asparagus! Haters can hate but no one can take your talent!

OMG.. that is incredibly cool, and I am not surprised it took me 5 minutes to scrawl down through all the comments to get to the leave my own comment. Firstly what an amazing cake! and with asparagus (albeit fondant ones)!!! who would have thought! Secondly, I love your site… Your tutorials, your recipes, your photos.. Much respect to you. x

I wish I had found this a few months ago!!! I had to make a vegetable themed wedding cake and asparagus was one of the requests! This would have saved me hours of stress and trying to figure out how to make them look real! Amazing job thanks for sharing!

I just made this cake for my husband’s birthday. He loved it and so did everyone else. My sister saw a picture of it on Facebook and said “I don’t get it. It looks like a bundle of asparagus. Is that what it is?” Lots of fun! It was my first time working with fondant so I decided not to attempt to put a layer of fondant over the top of the cake-just frosting. I soon regretted it though because it seeped through my stalks. I had to take a toothpick and scrape away all the frosting that was showing. But it also made the fondant mushy in places. It looked awful. I was so afraid I had ruined it. But I decided to try one more thing. I let it dry for an hour or two and then took purple petal dust and brushed up and down the sides of the stalks to try to create some depth. Then I brushed over the whole stalk with a light green to soften the color. It worked. Not only did it create a little more realistic coloring, but it also completely covered the blemishes. I was so excited!

O…….M…….G……. My nephew just suggested I make this cake for his brother for his birthday in February. I should probably start NOW!!!! This is truly fabulous!!!! Thanks for sharing your techniques – too many people withhold their tricks, but you always share yours. :)

George Takei’s post on Facebook got me here, too. This cake is outstanding. A lot of work, but wow…it would be worth it. I’m vegan (so I’d have to find some sort of vegan fondant alternative), and I would crack myself up serving this cake at thanksgiving or something. I can see all of my family members’ faces, now, not sure if I was serious with this cake made of asparagus, or what, lol.

Hi Linda!Yes I know King Arthur has it but there was no way to get it in time. I know that Hershey also makes a special dark cocoa but it wasn’t at the local Kroger, hence the cheat. But thank you for meintoning that, since a lot of other readers will want to know! Cheers, – Joe

Amazing! Thank you so much for the idea and your great instructions – I made this cake for my Mum’s Birthday, as she loves asparagus. It did take me 10 hours to do the asparagus, but it was worth it when a couple of friends thought the asparagus was real until I cut the cake! Best thing was, Mum loved it! Thanks for sharing your delicious and pretty recipes and for thinking of such unique ideas!

So, I’m going to try to find these food colorings local. I found the americolor leaf green online at your amazon link and I have prime so that’s great, but what about an alternative to gooseberry? Is that just an earthy red? What color is that I should try to find a replacement for?

When the directions say to color the fondant three different colors…the 50/50, slightly more leaf green and slightly more gooseberry I was wondering what the three fondants were for. Is the 50/50 to cover the cake and the other two to make the asparagus?

So i was looking at the picture and for the life of me could not understand why some would tie up a bunch of asparagus and present it as a cake…but wow…do you have talent! Just wanted to say well done! This looks super realistic!

This is quite literally the most genius culinary prank one could play on someone. I’m going to make it for my trainer, or better yet the gym where I work out. Partially because they are a fantastic lot but mostly because I want them to eat cake and this is just the most fitting way to present it to them.

Also, I’ve been through all your cake recipes and you are incredibly talented in the recipe and design department
xxx